Electrical apparatuses can be shifted to various operating states by means of the switching and controlling arrangements. Suitable devices for this are preferably constructed as step switches or accelerator switches that can be hand- or finger-operated, in which the actuating element is generally incorporated into a grip structure to be grasped by the human hand. In order to be able to reliably switch or control as many operating states as possible with a single actuating element, it is known to arrange resistances in the travel of the actuating element, which make it possible to sense reaching, leaving or a change of operating states by means of haptics stimulating the human sense of touch. Devices of this type generally have technically complex designs however, by means of which the operational reliability and the service life of the guide bearing are disadvantageously lowered.
Hence there is a desire for a device of the generic type mentioned above, the structure of which is suitable for creating haptics, without the operational reliability and the service life of the guide bearing being appreciably impaired.